Charles W. Duncan Jr., who served as the U.S. Secretary of Energy during the Jimmy Carter administration, died at age 96 at his Houston home Oct. 18.
Duncan was appointed by Carter as deputy defense secretary, according to an obituary in The Washington Post. He served in his later position amid a fight by the White House to prevent long lines at gas stations due to a fuel crisis stemming from Iran's Islamic revolution and threats from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“The gasoline lines have been real. There is always the possibility they will return,” Duncan told the Post in July 1979 after replacing the first Secretary of Energy, James R. Schlesinger.
According to the Post, Carter described Duncan as "a complete business manager," as well as someone "strong-willed enough to prevail in the internecine struggles among different military services."
Current DOE Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm mourned the loss of Duncan in a Twitter thread published Oct. 19.
"At his swearing-in ceremony, Secretary Charles Duncan spoke of a future driven by the 'genius of American technology,' one that would make use of renewable resources to free us from foreign energy dependence," Granholm said on Twitter.
"He saw the complexity of the energy problems facing America & he knew that the future of our country depended on our energy success. Mr. Duncan was a lion in the halls of @ENERGY. My deepest condolences and care go out to his wife Anne, his daughter and his grandchildren," she continued in another Twitter post.
